Toy flask



June 22, 1965 R. GONZALEZ, JR

TOY FLASK Filed May 24, 1963 INVENTOR Ralph Gonzolez,Jr.

United States. Patent 3,190,510 TOY FLASK Ralph Gonzalez, Jr., 901 Rim Road, El Paso, Tex. Filed May 24, 1963, Ser. No. 282,996 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-478) The present inventionrelates to toy flask for the use of children.

An object of the invention is to provide a flask which is preferably made from some non-breakable material, such for instance as plastic which is of light weight, easily handled by children and not, like glass or pottery, subject to breakage with consequent injury to the users.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy flask so constructed and arranged as to be conveniently held in the hand while in a pouring attitude to facilitate decanting of the liquid contents, for instance carbonated or soft drink beverages.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a flask having an external appearance in imitation of a duck for its appeal to children, and in which those parts resembling the neck, head and bill of the duck contribute to utilitarian functions with respect to the filling and decanting of the liquid contents.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a toy flask constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the same.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical central sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a frontal view of the duck head and beak crowning the filling neck.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the flask consists generally of a main body ltl having a rounded and preferably circular side wall 11 rising from a fiat base 12 and enclosed by a top wall 13.

A pouring spout 14 communicates with an upper portion of the inner chamber 15 of the flask at an upper forward portion thereof so that the flask must be substantially tilted for pouring purposes.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 3, the base of the pouring spout 14 presents a large port 16 for the delivery of liquid from the flask chamber 15 into the pouring spout 14. However, the pouring spout 14 progressively diminishes in cross section to the exit orifice 17. The upper wall 18 of the spout is also struck on a curve of a rather wide radius. A major length of the lower wall of the spout 14 is substantially straight from its connection with the side wall 11 up to a point approaching the orifice 17 where this wall also partakes of the curvature of the top wall 18.

Side enclosing walls 19 of the spout are rounded, as indicated in FIGURE 1. The net effect of the formation of the spout is conical with the apex substantially at the orifice 17. In fact the pouring spout is frusto-couical in that the tip of the apex is removed.

The filling neck 20 preferably rises from a substantially central point of the body of the flask where the port 21 of communication between the chamber 15 and the interior of the neck 20 expands into substantially wide dimensions and is located adjacent the port 16. The flask where it joins the neck 20 is incurved as indicated at 22 for the better grasp of the fingers of the hand while the thumb engages beneath the spout wall 14 in the act of supporting the flask at an elevation for pouring.

The upper end of the filling neck 20 is conveniently 3,190,518 Patented June 22, 1965 ice fashioned in the formation of the head 23 andbill or beak 24 of a duck, but this formation is also functional in that the top of the head is perforated to provide an inlet opening 25 through which liquid may be poured into the neck 20 for replenishing the contents of the chamber 15. This opening 25 is on an angle to the horizontal and to the vertical. In fact the opening 25 is in a diagonal plane and where circular is of a diameter conveniently large enough to receive the necks of such bottles as commercially contained Coca Cola, gingerale, root beer and other carbonated fizzing beverages as currently appeal to children.

It will be understood that the diagonal position of the opening 25 will be used to its optimum advantage when the replenishing bottle is held directly above the flask in a pouring attitude in which the open mouth of the bottle will be tilted to the diagonal opening 25 whereby the upper portion of the head 26 will interpose a barrier against any spilling of the entering liquid.

The bill 24 is hollow, as indicated at 27, and forms in reality an extension of the filling neck beyond the head 23, which head provides an upwardly enlarged space 28 to compensate for surges in the entering liquid incident to raising and lowering movements of the supply bottle about the lower portion of the opening 25 as a fulcrum, it being understood that the tendency will be to rest the neck of the supply bottle indicated in dotted lines at 29 in FIGURE 3 on the lower portion of the wall of the opening 25 and to raise and lower the supply bottle 29 about this fulcrum which will generate surges of liquid issuing forth from the neck of the supply bottle.

The enlarged space 28 and the hollow beak 27 will form overflow spaces to receive such surges and thus avoid backflow or splashing of the incoming liquid back out through the opening 25. This avoids slopping of the supplying liquid over the neck and over other parts of the vessel by virtue of such overflow running down the outside of the neck 20.

The curvature of the neck 20 is also functional in that it is in reverse to the direction of the spout 14. Accordingly, when the vessel is tipped spoutward to decant, the liquid in the chamber 15 will tend to flow through the port 16 into the spout 14 and away from the port 21 and the interior of the hollow neck 20, which latter in effect progressively moves in the opposite direction from that of the pouring spout and from that of the movement of the vessel incident to pouring.

Therefore, it will be noted that when the flask is tilted there is little likelihood of the liquid pouring out through the opening 25 in the filling neck 20. For this reason it is unnecessary to provide any stopper or other closure but the opening 26 may be left open at all times.

The opening 25 is ever open to admit atmospheric pressure at all times to the surface of the column of liquid in the neck 20 and chamber 15 to avoid formation of vacuum or vapor locks which would prevent free outflow of the liquid from the pouring spout 14.

The head section 23 is in the form of a raised blister on the neck 20 and this head section or blister houses the enlarged space 28.

The front wall 26 of the head section is located to intercept surges of the supply liquid, such front wall 26 being internally concave upwardly to the liquid receiving opening 25 and downwardly to the hollow portion 27, which latter is enclosed except for its communication below the concave wall 26 with the enlarged space 28.

The toy may be made of plastic, clear or colored.

Although I have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to me at this time, I reserve the right to all such mOdificatiOns and changes as may come within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy flask for the use of children comprising (a) a flask body enclosing (b) a liquid containing chamber,

(c) a pouring spout communicating with the chamber at one side of the body,

(d) a filling neck connecting with the chamber at an upper portion thereof,

(e) said neck curved in a substantially opposite direction away from the direction of projection of the pouring spout from the flask body,

(f) said filling neck having in an upper portion thereof short of the upper end of the filling neck an enlarged space,

(g) said filling neck in the upper portion of said enlarged space having a liquid-receiving opening of a size to receive the necks of supply bottles, and

(h) said filling neck above the enlarged space having a hollow portion communicating with the enlarged space for accommodating surges incident to filling from the supply bottle.

2. A toy flask as claimed in claim 1 in which said liquid receiving opening is so positioned as to be ever open' to at all times admit atmospheric pressure to the surface of the column of liquid in the filling neck and said chamber to avoid vacuum locks and promote free movement of the liquid from the chamber out through the pouring spout.

3. A toy flask as claimed in claim 1 in which said neck has (i) a head section housing the enlarged space and having therein the liquid receiving opening,

(j) said head section constituting a raised blister on the neck having (k) a front wall placed to intercept surges of the supply liquid,

(1) said front wall internally concaved upwardly to the liquid receiving opening and downwardly to the hollow portion,

(m) said hollow portion enclosed except for its communication with the enlarged space;

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 72,622 5/27 Grunberg D58-9 172,749 1/76 Kidder 2151 2,308,325 1/43 Binnington 22278 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,573 10/04 Great Britain.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

' HADD s. LANE, Examiner. 

1. A TOY FLASK FOR THE USE OF CHILDREN COMPRISING (A) A FLASK BODY ENCLOSING (B) A LIQUID CONTAINING CHAMBER, (C) A POURING SPOUT COMMUNICATING WITH THE CHAMBER AT ONE SIDE OF THE BODY, (D) A FILLING NECK CONNECTING WITH THE CHAMBER AT AN UPPER PORTION THEREOF, (E) SAID NECK CURVED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY OPPOSITE DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION OF PROJECTION OF THE POURING SPOUT FROM THE FLASK BODY, (F) SAID FILLING NECK HAVING IN AN UPPER PORTION THEREOF SHORT OF THE UPPER END OF THE FILLING NECK AN ENLARGED SPACE, (G) SAID FILLING NECK IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID ENLARGED SPACE HAVING A LIQUID-RECEIVING OPENING OF A SIZE TO RECEIVE THE NECKS OF SUPPLY BOTTLES, AND (H) SAID FILLING NECK ABOVE THE ENLARGED SPACE HAVING A HOLLOW PORTION COMMUNICATING WITH THE ENLARGED SPACE FOR ACCOMMODATING SURGES INCIDENT TO FILLING FROM THE SUPPLY BOTTLE. 